Human Resource Management Report: Aldi's Practices and Analysis

This report delves into the core functions of Human Resource Management (HRM) within an organization, specifically focusing on Aldi's practices. It examines workforce planning, highlighting the importance of HRM in achieving organizational goals, resolving conflicts, and ensuring compliance with regulations. The report analyzes various recruitment sources, including internal and external methods, evaluating their respective strengths and weaknesses. It then explores the advantages of effective HRM practices for both employers and employees, emphasizing their impact on productivity and profitability. The report also discusses the significance of employee relations in influencing HRM decision-making, with the ultimate aim of improving productivity and morale. Finally, it touches upon key aspects of employment legislation and its role in shaping HRM strategies.

HUMAN RESOURCE
MANAGEMENT

INTRODUCTION
An organisation has various departments that perform different tasks according to their
specialisation. Human resource division of a company is responsible for selecting the best person
for a job. Besides this primary function, they also play an important role in solving issues
relating to salary. This department is accountable for following various norms, regarding
employment which are made by an enterprise1. Aldi is the leading firm of grocery retail sector in
UK. They have more than 70,000 stores and this organisation is operating in 70 countries. This
assignment will discuss about the purpose of HRM, different approaches of recruitment and their
strengths and weaknesses will also become the part of this file. Benefits of HRM will be
explained along with discussing its impact on profitability and productivity. Key parts of
employment legislation will be discussed at the end as well.
TASK 1
P1. Functions of HRM regarding workforce planning
Human resources are one of the most significant assets present in an organisation. If a
company wants to attain their goals in an effective way then they have to select adequate number
and quality of candidates. Machines do not run an enterprise, they have to recruit people who
have brain and some special talent or skills. Below are some of the purposes of HRM that ALDI
should focus at the time of opening their new store:
Organisational purpose – Firms need human beings for accomplishing various tasks.
Managing employees is a difficult task as workers have different thinking and nature. It is the
function of HRM to solve various conflicts that arise in between two managers and their
subordinates or among personnel2. This significant task relating to promotion and retrenchment
is also seen by this department. They plan different schemes relating to this issue. Aldi has to
1
Hendry, Chris. Human resource management. Routledge, 2012.
2 Armstrong, Michael, and Stephen Taylor. Armstrong's handbook of human resource
management practice. Kogan Page Publishers, 2014.
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follow various regulations present in a business environment, HRM is responsible for complying
with all the rules formed by government of UK.
Personal purpose – Employees have different queries about salary and incentives
schemes, HRM try to resolve all the issues relating to this matter. They also do planning
regarding holidays and medical policies of government and company so they can take essential
benefits from various programs.
Below are some HRM functions which Aldi has to perform at the time opening new outlet:
Recruitment – This is a primary task of HR wing of an organisation. Proper planning is
needed for selecting desired candidates, managers of different departments should communicate
their need to human resource division and after analysing their demands HR manager should hire
best employees that is available in the market3. Checking qualifications and skills of potential
workers is significant part of this project.
3 Choi, Myungweon. "Employees' attitudes toward organizational change: A literature
review." Human Resource Management 50, no. 4 (2011): 479-500.
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Source: Definition of Human Resource Management. 2017
Orientation – When a new employee enters in the organisation, he/she is unfamiliar with
the culture of company. HRM try to make them familiar with the internal environment, they
introduce them with the team in which new worker will be working in upcoming time. They also
tell them about their job and the project (Definition of Human Resource Management. 2017).
Human resource division perform a significant function by communicating the responsibility of
new employees so they do not get confuse by other's position.
Strengthening employee relation – It is the function of HRM to make a strong
connection between workers and employers. They play crucial role in removing various conflicts
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Illustration 1: Definition of Human Resource Management

that may arise between two sides4. They work as a bridge and communicate each other’s need to
both parties. This results in effective use of available resources.
Training of employees – Workers need some general training so they can adjust
themselves in the organisation and give their best to the company. HRM plan various training
needs and sometime they also hire trainers for development of staff members.
P2. Various sources of recruitment and selection along with their strength and weaknesses
Recruitment is a difficult process because there are many factors which has to see before
hiring a candidate5. Aldi basically has two types of source for selection, one is internal and other
is external. Below is their strength as well as weaknesses:
External source – Most of the companies use this option when they want to recruit more
skilled and experienced workers. Media advertisement, outsourcing recruitment process to HR
firms, campus placement are some of the example of external source. By opting this mode of
recruitment, more potential candidates can be targeted in short period of time.
Strengths – External source help is mass recruitment. At the time of starting a new store,
cited firm will be needing more number of candidates in less time. By using this mode, enterprise
can hire fresh employee, this will enhance their pool of talent without increasing much cost. New
graduated people do not ask much amount in term of salary. Selecting experienced workers can
provide some extra edge to cited firm over other companies of the industry.
Weaknesses – External source is an expensive option. It can put additional burden on the
financial resources of an organisation. Sometime human resource managers do not use it because
they claim that it is a time consuming process6. Morale of present employee go down when an
4 Wright, Patrick M., and Gary C. McMahan. "Exploring human capital: putting
‘human’back into strategic human resource management." Human Resource Management
Journal 21, no. 2 (2011): 93-104.
5 Meredith Belbin, R. "Management teams: Why they succeed or fail." Human Resource
Management International Digest 19, no. 3 (2011).
6 Shantz, Amanda, and Gary Latham. "The effect of primed goals on employee
performance: Implications for human resource management." Human Resource Management 50,
no. 2 (2011): 289-299.
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enterprise opt this option because sometime their chances of getting promoted get suffer by
selection of talented candidates.
Internal source - In this method, existing employees are transferred or promoted to new
position for fulfilling a vacant seat. Workers can refer their friends and family members for a job,
there are many companies who are paying commission to their staff members who are referring
potential candidates, if these people get selected then existing employee earn decent amount of
money in the form of commission.
Strengths – HR managers choose this mode because it does not involve much cost.
Selecting people from internal source increasing the moral of staff members and they perform
better in order to get promotion in less time period. When a new person is selected from outside
then enterprise has to invest some money on him/her so they can understand organisational
culture, these candidates also faces various kind of difficulties at initial stage as they do not feel
comforting among completely unknown people 7. By adopting this option HR division of cited
firm can assure smooth functioning of various tasks as promoted or transferred workers is
already aware about organisational culture.
Weaknesses – Company can miss new talent if they hiring employees from internal
sources. Candidates who are selected through referral approach may make a group (trade union)
which is not good for the management of company8. If an enterprise will not hire people from
outside of the firm then they will not find creative and innovative workers.
7 Chelladurai, Packianathan, and Shannon Kerwin. Human resource management in sport
and recreation. Human Kinetics, 2017.
8 Lengnick-Hall, Cynthia A., Tammy E. Beck, and Mark L. Lengnick-Hall. "Developing a
capacity for organizational resilience through strategic human resource management." Human
Resource Management Review 21, no. 3 (2011): 243-255.
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TASK 2
P3. Advantages of HRM practices to workers and employers
If a big corporation like Aldi build a strong team of HR division then they can solve most
of the problems which occurs in business operation of the company. Following are some benefits
of HRM practice:
To employer – There are many firms who get shut down because they fail to hire place
right person on the position. An organisation do need super talented staff members, their main
aim is to select people who can understand and attain organisational goals. Management want to
keep their focus on profit generating areas, they transfers various issues like conflict solving to
the HR department9. This division remove difference among employees & employer and workers
in order to assure smooth functioning of the organisation. Human resource department comply
all the legal obligation, made by government, relating to salary, medical policy etc. This activity
remove unwanted controversies and keep concentration of enterprise of attaining their long term
goals.
To employee – There can be many workers in cited firm who are unaware about
incentive schemes which is present in the organisation10. They get necessary assistance from HR
division, this department explain them the ways by which they workers can earn huge amount of
money. Human resource department also discusses organisational culture with new staff
members so that they do not feel awkward in their initial working days. This division of cited
firm communicate the problem of employees to the top level management. HR department
organise different events in the company so staff members can interact with each other and make
informal relation which is basic need of human being.
9 Sparrow, Paul, Chris Brewster, and Chul Chung. Globalizing human resource
management. Routledge, 2016.
10 Alfes, Kerstin, A. D. Shantz, Catherine Truss, and E. C. Soane. "The link between
perceived human resource management practices, engagement and employee behaviour: a
moderated mediation model." The international journal of human resource management 24, no.
2 (2013): 330-351.
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P4. Effectiveness of HRM practices for increasing organisational profit and productivity
The importance of HR division is continuously enhancing in this era. Aldi understand
that if they select best person for a job then they are successfully open new store and achieve
their major targets. Below are some HR practice that can make a positive impact on the
productivity of the enterprise:
Structured governance – HR managers try to demolish the barriers between two
departments, they do not take side of employer and always follow the rule relating to good
governance. HR practice assure that every worker has clear understanding about their duties and
the resources which company has allotted to them11. They try to find the flaws in scalar chain in
order to assure proper communication channels in the cited organisation. This practice play
significant role in enhancing productivity of the corporation.
Remove burden of administration – There are many activities that cited company has
to perform which has no connection with the profit of the enterprise. HR practice remove this
extra work so firm can focus on their operations and revenue generating activities.
Selecting best candidates – Company with quality workforce get competitive advantage
over their competitors12. HR wing try to recruit best worker for a task so employee can
performance their job effective, this will increase productivity of the Aldi and their profit may
also rise. Sometime companies fail to recruit right man for a task, this result is failure to achieve
targets which ultimately make an unfavourable effect on the revenue of an enterprise.
Formation of advance workforce – HR managers try to determine the need of
employees so cooperation can improve their performance. If cited organisation provide training
to workers and make development of staff members their priority then Aldi can smoothly run
their new store increasing their profitability in short period of time. The way technology is
changing, the demand of quality workforce is also increasing and HR department is responsible
for finding the trainers who can provide necessary training to the staff. Talented and motivated
workforce can easily increase productivity of organisation.
11 Huselid, Mark A. "Celebrating 50 Years: Looking back and looking forward: 50 years of
Human Resource Management." Human Resource Management 50, no. 3 (2011): 309-312.
12 Bloom, Nicholas, and John Van Reenen. "Human resource management and
productivity." Handbook of labor economics 4 (2011): 1697-1767.
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Illustration 2: Human Resource Management
(Source: Human Resource Management, 2017)
Task allotment – Sometime workers do not know the skills which they possess in their
personality. When they fail to accomplish a work in an effective way HR manager try to find
their other talents. This is very complicated task but if a person have exact idea about their
interest and the things in which they are better than most of the people, then they can get
surprising result. Organisation just need to allot them right activity.
TASK 3
P5. Significance of employee relation to influence HRM decision making
The concept of trade union started losing popularity when companies made human
resources division in their organisation (Human Resource Management, 2017). There was a time
when employers did not care about their workforce, they did not consider them as an asset and
treat them as a machine. But gradually MNCs understood that an enterprise cannot be run with
quality workers and human resource is the most important part of their business. Significance of
employee relation relating to decision making is mentioned below:
Better productivity – Aldi should take opinion of existing workers at the time of making
plans, these employees work at ground level so they have better idea about the problems which
company may face at the time of running a new store. This will improve productivity of cited
firm and it will also provide strength to the relation between employer and employee.
Improvement in morale – When senior managers take advice from their junior, they feel
their important in the enterprise. The communication gap between both sides reduces and most
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of the problems get resolve in less time (What Is Employee Relations? - Definition & Concept,
2017). If company execute the ideas given by workers then organisation can see a betterment in
the morale of employees13. This will also provide them job satisfaction.
Reduce expenses – If cited firm will select a person from outside for taking any advice
then they have to pay him/her huge amount in terms of salary. If they take assistance from staff
members then it would not involve any cost. On the other hand, it will be better for the morale of
workers (What Is Employee Relations? - Definition & Concept. 2017). Almost 30000 people are
working in this firm, if management give them significant part in the process of decision making
then overall cost operation can easily get down. Responsibility will motivate staff members to
perform better and focus on optimum utilisation of the resources which is available to the
enterprise.
Teamwork – Better connection between employees and their seniors is necessary for
making a healthy and positive working environment. A good team can face any hurdles, opening
a new store is not an easy task but if the cited firm focus on teamwork then they can deliver
better results in less time period.
Moreover, there are various roles of trade unions such as collective bargaining, employee
welfare, remove unfair practices, legislations and so on. Trade unions develops various laws
within work place so that interest of workers can be protected and promoted. Apart from this,
collective bargaining is that conflict resolving process which involve negotiation of both parties.
With the help of this, company can easily resolve its all industrial disputes.
P6. Elements of employment legislation and their impact on HRM decision making
Government has made various regulation relating to different matter. The main reason
behind formation of law is to avoid conflicts and provide some standards which has to be
followed by everyone who is getting covered under the act. Below are some key legislation
relating to employment:
13 Renwick, Douglas WS, Tom Redman, and Stuart Maguire. "Green human resource
management: A review and research agenda." International Journal of Management Reviews 15,
no. 1 (2013): 1-14.
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Civil right act 1954 – According to this law, employers cannot do discrimination on the
basis of colour, religion, race, gender and caste. HR department of cited firm has to give equal
opportunities to the people who are eligible for job. This act got modified in 1991 and right to
sue was added under this legislation. Human resource wing of cited company must planning
selection of candidates according to law otherwise they may have to face legal trouble.
Equal pay act 1953 – Employer cannot do discrimination on the basis of gender, and pay
two different amount, in terms of salary, to the employees. They should considered their
performance at the time of providing incentives instead of gender. HR managers must follow this
law and provide equal remuneration to the workers.
Disability act – An organisation cannot give reject a candidate because of his/her
physical disabilities14. If a person have required skills that he/she should get equal chance. HR
team must consider this rule at the time of selection procedure otherwise cited company may has
to come up with legal troubles.
Pregnancy discrimination act – An enterprise cannot reject job application of a women
just because she is pregnant. Human resource wing should make necessary arrangement for a
female employee if she is pregnant. HR manager should assure job security of pregnant
employee and involve them at the time of making significant call.
Minimum wages act – According to fair labour standard act, company has to pay
minimum wages to all the employees. They cannot ask workers to work more than the hours
which is permitted by the law. In case organisation want them to work for more hours than firm
has to pay them extra amount for additional duty. HR team should keep a record relating to
wages and hour so they can check whether the organisation is complying with the provision
which is stated in the law.
14 Gavino, Monica C., Sandy J. Wayne, and Berrin Erdogan. "Discretionary and
transactional human resource practices and employee outcomes: The role of perceived
organizational support." Human Resource Management 51, no. 5 (2012): 665-686.
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TASK 4
P7. Applying HRM practices
Nowadays, the significance of HRM practice is continuously enhancing. Organisations
understand that if they will not hire right person for a post then they cannot attaining their
desired objectives. Innovation provide competitive advantage to an enterprise and talented
workers are needed for this task. For opening a new store at Wembley central, HR team has to
perform many functions, below are some of them:
Recruitment – If cited firm will hire best candidate in their company for various position
then this new store can easily see the light of success. HR team play crucial role in this process,
they ask different departments about their needs and hire employees according to the skills which
various divisions want in their teams. HR manager can opt the option of campus placement, they
can select fresh talent at low CTC15. The workers who get recruited must fit in the culture of
organisation, they should understand the vision of company. Advertising can be used for finding
potential staff members, an interview process should be organised for exploring best person for a
job. For example if company will hire high skilled workers then they can operates business
activities in most effective manner which will help organisation in producing quality products
and services. Also, it helps company in generating high financial profit.
Training and development – Regular training on new employees is essential for
improving their productivity. HR team will recruit skilled workers but they have to develop them
according to the culture and policy of enterprise. Human resource manager should focus on their
personal development and remove various flaws which is present in their personality. If company
will provide training and development programs to its employees then it can improve their
current skills. High skilled workers can contribute more in achieving organisational objectives.
Compensation – In new store, Aldi need motivated employees who are willing to work
hard and executive aggressive plan of the company. Beside salary, an attractive incentive scheme
can motivate workers to give their best and present surprising result in-front of the management.
Work life balance – Employees can bear work load up-to a limit. They need holidays
and a happy working environment in order to maintain proper balance between work and life.
15 Marcinkus Murphy, Wendy. "Reverse mentoring at work: Fostering cross‐generational
learning and developing millennial leaders." Human Resource Management 51, no. 4
(2012): 549-573.
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CONCLUSION
At the end, it can be concluded that human resource is a key division of an organisation.
They are responsible for hiring efficient workforce and right people in the firm. Besides this
primary function, they have to perform some additional tasks like reducing conflicts at
workplace, complying with laws relating with employment, etc. This department plays an
important role in increasing the productivity of staff members and profitability of an enterprise.
Normally, a department of a firm assists only employers but HR team provides great assistance
to employees by resolving various issues relating to their salary and personal growth. This
division of an enterprise assures effective governance in company and they try to solve dispute
between employers and staff members.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
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